What is Film Turnaround – Explaining a Film Stuck in Turnaround
In the filmmaking industry, you will come across a lot of different terms that sound confusing, or that don’t necessarily refer to what you think they might. You may assume that “turnaround” is all about how quickly a film can be made, but this is not always the case.
Turnaround is a term in film that can be used in a couple of different scenarios.
- To refer to film turnaround times. How long a film takes to get from idea to a rough cut, for instance.
- Turnaround can also be a status of a film project, used when a studio doesn’t want to go further with a project, and it offers the whole project to another studio to try to recoup the costs they have already spent.
In this guide, we’re diving into both of these uses of the term turnaround, which you will hear a lot in the film industry, and if you wish to work in the industry you really need to understand.
A Film “In Turnaround”
This is a term you may have heard relating to movies you have seen. So what is turnaround in film?
A turnaround film is simply a movie that has started its development, whether that is just concept and pre-production, or even gets to the point where shooting has started, but the studio decides not to go any further with it.
If the studio decides that the film production needs to be stopped then they can put a film into “turnaround”. Turnaround films might be those that have sat in pre-production waiting for a green light to start, or when something happens that holds the film back or totally changes the scope of the project.
What usually happens in turnaround is that the movie is then offered to other film studios. This is a chance for the original studio to recoup some of their investment in the project and get some money back, rather than just leave the project to die. A broken turnaround film project can be very costly for a studio.
A lot of very successful and popular films actually went into turnaround before being picked up by another production company. When this happens, the work that has been done on the film is usually part of the agreement. This means that pre-production work may be passed over to the other film production company, and the staff and actors attached to the film already may decide that they are going to continue to work on it.
Common reasons for a film going into turnaround include:
- Spiralling costs. If the movie is going to be very expensive for a developer to make, there is a chance that they will decide to cut their losses and try to send the movie into production with another company.
- Somebody leaving the production. For example, if one director or actor has been attached to the project and then decides that they are not going to work on the project anymore, it may fall down and go into the state of turnaround. This means that the production company may try to get somebody else to take it on.
- The film production being stuck. There are a lot of reasons why the movie production may get stuck, as the teams involved may be working on other productions, or there could even be a chance of a disagreement or other political issue stopping the film in its tracks. Some films just get stuck and stagnate as they are not the priority for the studio right now, which means it is possible that the company uses turnaround to offer it to different people.
Turnaround is often about the finances. It is a way to recoup some of the losses that the studio has made developing a creative idea.
Films That Went Into Turnaround
Some films that most people have heard of even went into turnaround before being turned into a more impressive project. “E.T., the Extra Terrestrial” was actually a turnaround film. It began life with a working title of “Night Skies” which was more of a horror story where a family were attacked by aliens. Steven Spielberg, the director, kept trying to change the film to be more of a focus on one of the friendly aliens, and this meant that the film production company Columbia put the film into turnaround.
The same thing happened with “The Diary of Anne Frank” when director David Mamet provided a screenplay for the movie, which was deemed to be too dark to go into the production phase.
Films that go into turnaround are definitely a risk for a lot of the studios that purchase them. It isn’t always easy to make a success out of a film that went into turnaround, but as we can see from “E.T., the Extra Terrestrial” it is possible to make a big success out of some of these movies. It could just be that the studio doesn’t have the opportunity to make as many films as there are in the pipeline. The movie itself might be an excellent idea. There is a term called “development hell” that is also used in the industry, which is when some holdup causes a film to sit in state without being turned into a working movie.
The risk factor definitely comes from the fact that something has held up the film itself. For example, it might be the case that the film has proved hard, even impossible to turn into a film. If the project proves to be too difficult, it is rare that it can be moved onto another studio having already gone into turnaround.
Film Turnaround Times
You may have landed on this page because you are also considering the turnaround time of a film. The film crew turnaround time influences how long it will take to get an idea off the ground.
When you work with a reputable and visionary company like Insight Studios, you will have a production schedule set out from day one, and a clear idea of how long it is going to take to get the end product, your film.
Of course, the average turnaround for a rough cut of a film is going to be a lot longer than the average turnaround for the rough cut of a commercial or a shorter video project, so it really depends on what sort of film is being made.
A long feature film can take around four to five years from conception to release, but this is as the film moves through the different stages of production. Films start as the spark of an idea, and need to go through pre-production, production, and then post-production before they are ready. This is purely on the production side, not accounting for things like marketing.
A study by Steven Follows looked at the release of Hollywood movies between 2006 and 2016 to work out roughly how long it took to make one of these films.
“Across all these movies, the average production was announced 871 days before it was eventually in cinemas. Pre-production took 146 days, principal photography took 106 days and post-production began 301 days before the movie hit the big screen.”
While all these processes are running, there are different departments looking at marketing, and legal and administrative aspects of a film release.
Some films have been made, and specifically shot, very quickly. The production process is often the time when things are most hectic as it is so important to get all of the footage required while all of the actors and director are on set, as well as the time of the cameramen being crucially important.
Phone Booth, a film that was made in real time, and made by Joel Schumacher, was filmed in around 12 days time. This is an incredible achievement, but even with this in mind, plenty of time was then taken up on the other aspects of making the film, such as pre-production and post-production.
Getting pre-production right means that when the time comes to go into shooting a film, there is much less chance of something going wrong, or having to reshoot things.
Of course, some films have been made quickly. When you have a preliminary meeting with Insight Studios, we will outline the length of time that a project should take. We can work quickly and efficiently to ensure no unnecessary delays to your production, and while it is worth taking the time to get a production right, we understand the need to work to tight deadlines and create a film quickly.
This can be especially true with certain types of productions, and commercials and many of the other films Insight Studios specialize in can be made quickly as well as being of amazing quality.
Film Turnaround With Insight Studios
Our turnaround time is always as efficient as possible while taking the time to create the most exceptional version of your vision. Bring your ideas to Insight Studios for an efficient production process and to create a film without delaying the production. Every project starts with a spark of inspiration.
From commercials to feature films and any other video project, reach out to us to get started on creating your perfect video project today.